It's been a long time since the punter became any kind of hero in a Steelers game. Or at the very minimum, had just about everyone watching the ball leave his foot in complete awe, almost enough to erase the horrid performance by the offense in the Steelers' 9-3 loss to the Bills Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium.
"An area of improvement I thought was net punting, the field position component," Mike Tomlin said after Saturday's game. "A play got flipped this time around. We were much better in this game than we were in the last one."
Cameron Johnston punted the ball five times Saturday night, all in the first half and all after series in which the offense combined for a total of 16 yards. Here's each one of those punts:
• 49 yards, from the Pittsburgh 19-yard line to the Buffalo 32-yard line, return of six yards. And, an illegal block on Buffalo backed it up 10 more yards to the Buffalo 28-yard line.
• 61 yards, from the Pittsburgh 34-yard line to the Buffalo 5-yard line, return of 12 yards to the Buffalo 17-yard line.
• 65 yards, from the Pittsburgh 31-yard line to the Buffalo 4-yard line, return of nine yards to the Buffalo 13-yard line.
• 64 yards, from the Pittsburgh 31-yard line to the Buffalo 5-yard line, return of 31 yards to the Buffalo 36-yard line.
• 45 yards, from the Pittsburgh 29-yard line to the Buffalo 26-yard line, return of five yards to the Buffalo 31-yard line.
That is an average of 56.8 yards, and a net average of 44.2 yards. For context, the most Pressley Harvin III averaged over the past three seasons -- not net average, but just punt average -- was 44.5 yards. The most net yards he averaged was 41.1 yards.
Talk about a major upgrade. And he's so nonchalant about it, too:
"I'm just trying to do my job, honestly," Johnston said of his three 60-plus punts. "Just trying to punt the ball as far as you can in those situations."
It really couldn't have come at a better time because it shows the true value of having a really good punter. When the offense is unable to move the ball, such as they did in this game, having a guy such as Johnston can flip the field. That puts the defense in better situations and gives the offense a chance to get the ball back with decent field position should the defense do its job.
It might seem silly to spotlight a punter, even for a preseason game. But, Saturday night showed how much of a difference maker a good punter can be. Not only can a punter like this flip the field if the offense doesn't move the ball, but it can also make up a bit for some questionable special teams play.
The Steelers are still searching for a gunner in punt coverage, as nobody out of Dez Fitzpatrick, Darius Rush, Ryan Watts, Anthony Averett or others have truly claimed that job. But if the punter is booting 60-yarders downfield, it softens the blow of allowing a 15-yard return. But, as Tomlin said, the punt coverage was better this week as opposed to the loss to the Texans. And if the Steelers can get themselves a good gunner before the season begins, you'll continue to see those net yards tick upward.
Regardless of who's running down the field, it sure looks as if the Steelers finally have themselves a punter. And with the way the offense looks right now, they'll need all the help they can get.
